Screening, diagnosing, and progress monitoring are essential to making sure that all students become fluent readers — and the words-correct per-minute (WCPM) procedure can work for all three. Here’s how teachers can use it to make well-informed and timely decisions about the instructional needs of their students.
Before your child receives special education services, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that he or she have an evaluation. The results of an evaluation will be used to see if your child needs special education help in school.
When a child is having a language or reading problem, the reason could be simple to understand and deal with or it could be complicated. Often, children may just need more time to learn their language skills. On the other hand, some children might have trouble seeing, hearing, or speaking. Others may have a learning disability. If you think your child may have some kind of physical or learning problem, it is important to get help quickly.
Learn to develop the evidence you need to support your belief that your child is not receiving the right help in school. Peter and Pamela Wright, from Wrightslaw, tell you how to interpret and chart your child’s test scores, graph your child’s progress, and successfully communicate with the educators who make decisions about your child.
Arthur Anastopoulos, E. Paige Temple, Ericka E. Klinge
This article, from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, distinguishes auditory processing disorder from other disorders. Symptoms and treatment are described. An explanation is provided of the role of the multidisciplinary team and the role of the audiologist, which is the only profession that can legitimately diagnose auditory processing disorders.
More schools are using a process called Response to Intervention (RTI) to see if a child might have a learning disability. Response to Intervention provides specially designed instruction for children who have scored low on general tests. The students are tested — sometimes as often as every week — to measure progress. Those who improve after the instructional intervention go back to their normal classroom activities. Those who do not improve receive additional testing to confirm the presence of a disability.
